The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-06-20
SAVED FROM DEATH.
DANGEROUS OPERA TI0N ON AN
ITALIAN WOMAN.

The Abdomen Opened and an Obstruction
Removed-Aiter Lingering for Week the
Patient Improves and viii Recover.
New York special to The Cincinnati
Enquirer: An operation by which the
abdomen of patient was opened and
Intestinal troubles successfully treated
was recently performed at the Charity
Hospital which has excited much inter-
est in the medical profession. The case
was one of those rare ones that appear
hardly once in hundred years. Even
then the conditions are never fully
known until an examination is made
after death. There is only one other
case on record in which q similar oper-
alton was tried, and the end of this was
the death of the patient from heart
failure, before the incision in the body
had been closed.
Rachel Ricardo, a middle-aged Ital-
ian woman was the patient operated
upon.
lie hlslOh1 Of HEX CASE
Shows that she has been n sufferer from
the most intense pain in the abdominal
region. the effect of which is plainly
marked on the woman's face and the
white hair which began to turn as she
suffered. Her aliment was thought at
first to be simple case of constipation
which she had suffered all her life and
the italian physician in Mulberry
Bend" gave her purgatives without
stint. These afforded relief for while,
but their virtue soon ended, and their
use did much more harm than good.
The constipation became unusually
obstinate, the absence of intestinal ac-
tivity, covering n period of months.
She was troubled with nausea all the
time and frequently vomited a greenish
liquid that was very offensive and con-
tanned large amount of bile. No at
tention was given to her diet, and
the coarse food used by Italians added
considerably to her misery. Her body
turned to deep a yellow, indicating an
active discharge of bile and Interrupt
ton of les regular removal.
When brought to the hospital she
was in a dclirous condition. II nature
had not taken this means of giving the
woman relief, she would have died in
her humble home, and an opportunity
would have been missed to demonstrate
the advance that has been made in sur
gerry and surgical skill. Her symptoms
indicate that she has mechanic al OBJ
struction in the intestine. Its nature
was conjectural. 1t might be due to
structure, a tumor, or solid growth in
the intestine, spasm or impacted feces,
but there was no means whereby it
could be determined with certainty.
The entire abdomen was the seat of
an active inflammation with great ten
derness. In fact so tender was the
abdomen that the touch Of q finger or
a sheet would bring on a violent spasm,
in which the body would be
THROWN INTO ALL SORTS OF coNToR-
TIoNs
And the intestines would become knot
ted and twist around with snakelike
movements, which were plainly visible
from the external surface. Nature was
doing heroic work to get rid Of the
obstruction, whatever its character
might be. and this was shown in fire.
quent violent cramps and bearing down
movements of the abdominal muscles.
As soon as it had been definitely set
tied that there was an intestinal OBJ
struction an effort was made to reduce
the Inflammation. Leeches we're set
to work on the abdomen and chest.
Hip baths we're given at regular inter-
walls and large doses OF opium admin
istered. The patients system was not
sensitive to the action Of opiates and
she could take enough at one dose to
destroy the life of a dozen people.
This treatment had the desired effect.
The inflammation subsidized to some ex-
tent enough to remove the patient
from the delirious state, and make her
fully alive to every pain. Then it
could be seen how badly she suffered.
She begged for opium, and it was given
to her until il was not safe to give any
more, but this did not give relief. She
prayed for death. The only way in
which she could be kept quiet was by